Warning over contagious virus in possible tripledemic
Source: (
https://bit.ly/3EM6flF)
Amid concerns that Covid may return in full force this winter
along with rising flu cases, threatening to put extra pressure on
health services, an expert has told Express.co.uk that there is
another
virus that poses a greater risk to children that could be added into
the mix. Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) is an infection
that's normally mild, but can cause pneumonia and swelling of the
airwaves in babies, the elderly, and vulnerable people.
While mild in some cases, it is the leading cause of infant
hospitalisations in the UK and close to a third of under-fives with
respiratory symptoms swabbed as part of UKHSA surveillance test
positive.
With Covid and flu threatening to trigger a "twindemic", as some
experts have warned, high vaccination levels have meant that large
swathes of the population are well protected from the two diseases.
But both viruses are also unlikely to cause severe illness in young
people.
But Prof Francois Balloux, Director, UCL Genetics Institute said
that RSV is a completely different story. He told Express.co.uk:
"RSV is a leading cause of child hospitalisation and the virus kills
over 100,000 children each year globally. That's more than 50 times
as many children than those who died from Covid throughout the
pandemic. It's a far bigger threat to young children than Covid
or seasonal flu."
And he warned that it may be difficult to prevent the spread unless
action is taken to roll out a vaccine as soon as possible, or else
"disruptive measures" will need to be taken if cases continue
to rise.
He said: "RSV is highly contagious and the majority of children
experience an RSV infection before the age of 2 years. It's not
obvious that its spread can be suppressed without enforcing highly
disruptive measures. There is hope RSV child hospitalisations and
deaths will decrease in the future with new RSV vaccines being
rolled out soon."
Recent figures from the UK Health Security Agency indicate nearly
a third of under-fives currently have RSV, with 7.4 percent of the
general population infected with the disease overall. With cases
of this disease rising, it comes at the same time as flu levels have
hit levels higher than normal after two years of lockdown, while
over two million people in the UK have Covid.
But this does not necessarily mean that a "tripledemic" is coming
our way. Professor Amitava Banerjee, from the Institute of Health
Informatics and UCL, told Express.co.uk: "In my view the word
"tripledemic" is just the latest soundbite and we do not necessarily
know that RSV will be as big a threat.
"I think far greater potential threats to the NHS is due to chronic
underfunding, chronic understaffing and the indirect and long-term
effects of COVID."
